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Athens car thefts part of three-state fraud scheme

Posted: Wednesday, April 18, 2001

By Rhiannon BrewerStaff Writer

Two car-theft cases in Athens last fall have helped break a three-state case of stolen identities and stolen cars.

Dorian Wade Farmer, 30, of Catawba, S.C., pleaded guilty last week to two counts of conspiracy in U.S. Western District Court of North Carolina. Farmer also faces two charges of motor vehicle theft filed by Athens-Clarke police.

Police say Farmer used other people's identities to rent cars, create fraudulent Georgia titles for them and then sell the cars to dealerships.

In Athens, Farmer rented a 2001 Oldsmobile Aurora from Enterprise Rent-A-Car and a 2000 Ford Explorer from University Ford-Mazda of Athens in November, Athens-Clarke police Detective Lamar Glenn said Tuesday.

Farmer's bogus titles were convincing down to their watermarks, Glenn said, except that the wrong name was listed for the state insurance commissioner.

''It was unbelievable what this guy could do,'' Glenn said.

The two cars rented in Athens were sold to dealerships after real South Carolina titles were obtained. The cars were both recovered Dec. 7 after the Explorer was sold.

''The individual (who bought the Explorer) tried to get tags, and the tag agent wouldn't let them get a tag because the vehicle identification number showed it as stolen,'' Glenn explained. ''I think this really helped trip the case. It's one of those times where everything just clicks together.''

Authorities have recovered $300,000 in stolen cars in the case and believe Farmer also bilked about $500,000 from people through identity theft.

''This guy was a really good con artist,'' Glenn said. ''He had a list of aliases and actual identities he had stolen.''

Glenn said the FBI and other agencies had watched Farmer for close to a year through suspicious activity in his unidentified girlfriend's bank account.

The charges stem from activities in Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina between October 1998 and January 2000.

Farmer, who has served time in federal prison before, will face sentencing sometime this week, Glenn said.

''It's hard for me to understand how we have all these checks in place, and someone can get through and figure out how to scheme like this,'' Glenn said.

Police reporter Rhiannon Brewer can be reached at rbrewer@onlineathens.com or (706) 208-2226.

This article published in the Athens Daily News on Wednesday, April 18, 2001.